Tag "refugees"

This year marks the tenth anniversary since floods of xenophobic violence swept across the country in 2008, leaving 62 people dead, at least 670 wounded, some raped and more than 100,000 foreigners displaced. Yet the outbreaks continue today. Just last month four people were killed in Johannesburg after angry protestors looted and destroyed foreign-owned shops – bringing conversations around the treatment of foreigners back to the fore.

The number of people migrating to and from South Africa has remained constant but the type of people leaving is creating an economic burden for the country. With many academics, entrepreneurs and skilled workers leaving the country, South Africa is struggling to keep up with the rest of the world.

There comes a time in all of our lives when we grow weary – reach the point where we simply throw our hands up and say ‘I can’t do it anymore.’ The moments that our knees get weak and force us to take refuge in some place, some thought, some belief, or someone. Reaching the point of desperation isn’t a place of giving up, or admitting defeat – perhaps it is just the humble recognition that we can no longer do it all on our own.